Am Dead
by detox
Summary: Messenger Of Fear in sight, dark deception kills the light.
1. Fresh Turned Stone

Disclaimer: New Line Cinema owns everything.

Note: This story is pretty much dead. I just revised it. Some of it is re-written and/or the pacing is different. New title, too, BTW.

Am Dead

Written by detox

**CHAPTER ONE - FRESH TURNED STONE**

Soot smeared and covered in decay, the boiler room Jane Thompson had quietly entered breathed a sigh of death, weaving rows of smoke in front of her. She had found her way down to the boiler room after a friendly dare, ditching her as she headed in. Jane's stature was that of an impressionable, weak teenager, all the more welcoming. She pounded at the entrance leading back into Springwood High's hallways, it wouldn't budge, but the thought of getting the custodian to help her pushed Jane into the dreary complex. Fred Krueger was mopping up some common charcoal accumulated on the ground, not noticing the girl. Tiring of these mundane chores, he stopped to check if it was punch-out time. Noticing Jane looking helpless from across the dimly lit room, Fred chuckled, and slyly bared his pocket knife. The primary goal to Krueger was to satisfy his thirst at any cost, regardless of repercussions. Jane paced forward, beginning to call for help, "Hello? Mr. Krueger? I need some help unlocking the door, sir. Sir?" The horrid screeching sound of a steel blade scraping across copper pipes quickly silenced her. Fred put his mop slowly on the ground, deciding to further pursue his new found prey. Jane anxiously shuffled her way between two metal shelves with intentions on getting into the stock room. Closing in on the stock room door, the shriek once again sliced the silence in half with its volatile tone. Jane backpedaled towards the stock room door, hoping this is somehow a part of an elaborate prank. Back against the door, she nervously scanned the area for whoever is at the bottom of this. "This isn't funny, you assholes", she exclaimed, and shuddered as drips began to collect on her cheek. Fingering the mysterious liquid with her fingers, she looked upward to find nothing unusual. 

Silence. Suddenly, Jane could hear slight ambience. It was tinkling sounds of kid toys, perhaps. Turning around, she began to inspect..

A rat burst from under the doorway, sending a heart-stopping jolt through Jane, and Krueger burst from out of the shadows onto the girl, sending the two into the janitorial stock room; Fred snatched away at Jane's blouse and skirt. Jane tried to get this crazy bastard off her with a barrage of rights and lefts--no luck. Krueger snatched off most of her skirt, and her blouse was torn to pieces. Jane reached back for something--_anything_ to get this man off of her. Her fingers stretched to its full length to grasp a nearby broom stick, but slipped across the wood from her hands' moisture. Trying once again, Fred took notice, and violently punched her in the jaw. Miss Thompson's head lashed backwards onto the concrete with a snap. Krueger angrily heckled, zipping his fly down, and entering Jane. Jane began to weep in shame. Krueger slammed her head against the ground again to hush her cries, continuing to damage and deface her. Her anxiety peaked as her nose began to bleed, mixing with the tears streaming down her face, mascara diluting with the tears, and the blood from the corner of her mouth. Fred finished the deed, still lurched on top of Jane, and jammed the crippling steel of his knife into her lower abdomen. His eyes squinted in anger, "give Marge my regards", he threatened. Pulling himself to his feet, he looked down at his prey in perverse victory. The product of Satan's pumping adrenaline. 

"Wait--that was his first? With execution like that, you would think Fred Krueger was a professional at this point", I chimed.

"The first of the Elm Street children cases, yeah. His step-father, before he died, would always ramble at the local bar about how he wanted Freddy to be, but Freddy was into deviant things. He was always a sick human being, if you would even consider him one", Alice offered.

"Why a Thompson? Or did he just go after her because it was convenient?"  
  
"No. Krueger always had a problem with the Thompsons. From what I know, during the 70s.."

Marge Thompson, a lively mid-twenties newlywed, was preparing dinner when she heard a loud clutter next door. Prying apart the blinds, she saw a nimble looking man that was fumbling around in his house. Marge teased her hair quickly, and exited her house to check on her neighbor. Marge was a relative newcomer to the neighborhood, but her husband lived in Springwood since his birth and now worked as a patrolling officer. Her knowledge of the town was low, thus, she tried to get accustomed to it by being, albeit overly, neighborly. Knocking on the door of a modest home, Ted Grudgen, Fred Krueger's redneck "overseer", opened the door with displeasure on his face. "What", he boomed, not taken by Marge's good looks. "Well, I heard a noise, and just wanted to know if everybody was alright", Marge replied. Ted laughed like she was out of her simple mind, and called for "Freddy". The nimble man from before, a creepy man with a harmless figure, stepped to the door. Ted put his arm around Freddy, and said, "this boy here is just a retarded fuck-up that is mad because he lost his knives, that's all." Marge was shocked how rude Ted was not only to Freddy, but to her for using such language. "You look like a pretty lady. Freddy, you go talk to her", and with a shove and quick closing of the door, Freddy Krueger unwillingly stood beside Marge Thompson. Fred's face cringed with anger, but Marge tried to calm him, "Are you okay?" "I'm fine, maim", Freddy warmly responded. Marge continued, "you shouldn't let him treat you like that. You know what? How about you come over for dinner?" Fred nodded as the two headed over to the Thompson house. 

After ten minutes of casual talk, dinner was ready. Marge burst from the kitchen into the dining room with two plates in hand. Freddy eagerly wiped his hands, but something caught his eye. Marge's blouse was missing a button, revealing her white lace bra underneath. A sly smirk slid onto Krueger's face as Marge moved towards Freddy with an almost hypnotic style of walking. She placed his plate down in front of him as she quickly rounded the table to sit down. "Fred, would you mind saying grace?" Freddy's mind hit a roadblock. "I'm sorry, I have a slight cold, perhaps you could do it? It would only make this wonderful meal right if this food be blessed by the beautiful woman that made it", Fred smiled, hiding his disgust of grace. As Marge closed her eyes to bless the table, sinful thoughts raced through Krueger's mind. Under the lens of Freddy's mind's eye, he wanted to get his razor glove and cut Marge into four equal pieces to enjoy on occasion. Freddy began to slide his fork into his sleeve, and pulled bailing string out of his pocket. He tied the fork to the top of his hand, in case he couldn't hold himself.

"Dear lord, we ask you to bless.."

_Her legs for the feel of her perfection._

"..this food.."

_her lower torso to taste the devil's fruit._

"..our daily bread.."

_The upper torso to reveal her heart, and devour her breasts._

"We ask this, lord Jesus.."

_And the head. The bearer of emotion._

"...Amen."

Marge's head rose only to see Freddy across the table, demonic stare in tow, but tried to pass it off, "silly you, Fred." He didn't flinch. "What's the matter", she asked. Marge stood up, she didn't know this man very well, and realized the error of her ways. "Stop it, you're scaring me", she said. Freddy slowly stood, and devilishly chuckled. Marge began to threaten him, "if you harm me, I will have you thrown right in jail! My husband is a police off--" Freddy climbed over the table as Marge tried to run. Krueger gave chase as Marge ran up the stairs. Freddy tripped her right foot, allowing her to fall face first on the wood steps. Freddy flipped her over, and spit on her face as Marge began to yell and attempted to break free. Freddy snatched her bra off, exposing her perfect, round breasts. Marge silenced herself, awaiting an opening to get away. Freddy licked her left breast, but Marge thanked him with a kick to the crouch. Freddy tried to bear the pain. Backing off, he sliced Marge across the wrist with his glove. Krueger leaned over her again, as their faces were a mere matter of centimeters away. Marge tried to plead with him, "please, don't kill me! I'm only 27, and I'm pregnant. Oh, God.." She began to weep, but Freddy answered her, "you tell anyone about this, and I'll be back to kill you." 

I had to ask, thus, I did, "Alice, how do you know all of this?"

"I don't think we're ready for that one, yet", she responded, and she was right--at the time. "Anyway, Marge Thompson was a drunk ever since. It became so bad she got a divorce, and lived with her daughter until her death."

"Now I know why Krueger is hated so much, but what does the house have to do with anything?"  
  
It was getting late in the night, and Alice had to tend to her kid. Therefore, Alice had to pull the plug, stating, "we'll get to that tomorrow. Right now, get some sleep. If my schedule is clear, I'll head down to Springwood myself. I have faith I can deal with it now."

"Deal with what", I asked.

Alice paused, then responded, "nothing. Have a good night, Tina."

"You, too. See you later", I said.

I hung up the phone, but the thought and vision of Fred Krueger had totally infiltrated my mind. Yet, I didn't envision some nimble man, the Krueger in my vision was horribly burned or deformed. His attire was pretty dirty. "You _do_ need some sleep", I thought to myself, and I sure did. 

I hated Springwood. It was intensely quiet. Or maybe just around us, I guess. We had moved onto Elm Street the May of 1994, and boy, did I hate it. Ohio wasn't my state, at all, but my social workers suggested that my baby and I would be better off in a new environment. Peering out the window, looking at passing Springwood locales, I immediately thought this was going to be hell. As my worker, Louis, turned onto Elm Street, one house stood out from the others. A dilapidated house loomed behind a tree, striking a chord in me with its deteriorating foundation, an almost brooding sense of danger. "Weird house", I muttered, still astonished at the property. "It's weird, alright. That house is this town's 'haunted house'. I hear the locals are arguing whether to knock it down or keep it up for some sort of historical project", Louis said, driving without any visual emotion. He pulled the car into the driveway of my new residence. Nothing spectacular, just a modest house, but what was spectacular was how happy my new foster parent looked while standing in front of his screen door. Confidently stepping out, he opened his arms as I willingly hugged him. "Hell, he provides me and my baby shelter, might as well be grateful", I thought. He let go as Louis handed me my baby. Louis shook his hand, and sealed the deal with, "I hope this works out. Tina has really toughed it out, looking for a home." "Oh, she'll be fine", the happiness in the guy's face remained unscathed as he responded. 

Later that evening, the two sat across a small kitchen table. I worked some of my Kraft Macaroni and Cheese as I clutched my daughter, questioning how content we'll be with this temporary "new life" gig. The man, Henry K. Aerth, looked up from his plate, and noticed my inactivity. Not wanting to totally bore me on the first day, I guess, he offered me some entertainment, "Uh, if you want, I could put on the radio, okay? Maybe a little..", he stopped to think of the current popular acts, "Pearl Jam? Nirvana? How about some of that Dr. Dre guy?" 

I chuckled; music wasn't really going to do much for me. "No, that'll be alright." Then I, myself, started to search for some conversation. I thought over what Louis said about the haunted house. It wasn't the most thrilling subject in the world, but it might make for some good filler discussion. "I noticed some house down the street, about half a block from here." Henry's mouth stopped, slightly open, as he halted his chewing of Mac and cheese. He looked down; he was trying to shield me from something I shouldn't look into, "Just some kids spreading rumors. Been going on for about 15, 20 years." Henry leaned forward, with an all-business look. "I don't care what anybody tells you, that house is _nothing_ to worry about. Just..Just forget about it." With a few shakes of the head, and picking up of his fork, he continued eating but at a faster pace. He quickly finished, and wiped the crumbs off his face. Getting up, he paced into the living room. Yet, he stopped and turned towards me, and informed me that he was going to the weekly town meeting.

My boredom arose once again, but it hit me--I'm 17, have a permit, and this new guy is nice. So, I made Henry an offer he could refuse, but probably wouldn't. "May I borrow your car? I need to pick up some diapers." Truth be told, I just wanted to drive around to get my mind off things, and I guess he caught the hint by following my offer with a "sure". He continued, "just be back before 7:30, I have to be at the meeting at eight o' clock, okay?" I nodded, now out of the door. Stepping out of the house, I looked up into the late afternoon sky of Springwood. So relaxing, yet the town had given me this off-set vibe. I climbed into Henry's car, and started it up with ease. Henry watched me from the screen door; his expression one of worry, but he smiled and waved just in time for me to barely notice his worry. I backed out of the driveway, heading for Springwood's "shopping area".

As I entered the town's main shopping district, I couldn't help but compare it with a faceless town where everyone is over 69, sits on their front porch until dusk, and have too many season-specific decorations on their houses. Springwood was a ghost town. My thoughts became a broken record, "Springwood _is_ a ghost town." Yet, I somehow felt like I could relate with the main struggle. Except, I didn't know what the main struggle was, but I felt it in my soul that I could relate--somehow--with the residents' struggle. I parked in front of Roy's Pharmacy, and entered the building with low expectations of seeing such rare things as "people" inside. I was right, but the cashier looked surprisingly lively, young, and even cute when I passed him. Getting only a passing glance as he lowered a Guitar Player magazine to see who I was, I could immediately tell his first-hand impression was mutual. Or so I hoped. I walked down a few of the aisles, looking for the diapers, when a voice nearly gave me a jolt that would rival a gun shot to the clitoris. "Sale on diapers!!!" It was the cashier, laughing at my lack of aisle mobility. "I'm kidding. You can just bring that up here." I followed his suggestion, lugging a pack of Pampers onto the counter. "That'll be..uh.." As he tapped away at the register, I took advantage of finally being able to see all of his face. "Shit, the register must be on the rag or something. You can just give me a 5'er, and I'll handle the rest, alright?" Our eyes connected as I slid the five across the counter. "Hey, did you just move in on Elm Street", he asked. I nodded.

"Well, welcome to hell", a cocky grin ensued as we shared a quick chuckle. "Anyway, my name is Kelly During, but you can just call me 'Rez'." 

"Okay, sure. I'm Tina, but I guess you already knew. Seeing how small this town is." 

"Actually, everybody has been keeping to themselves since Fred--Nevermind. You probably already know about that bullshit. Whatever the case, I live two houses down across the street. Or I'll just stop by at your place."

"Wait, Fred who?"

"Just forget about it."

Somewhere in Heaven, God must've planned a lot of apparent opportunities for me to ditch my curiosity, but I egged on, "does it have something to do with that old house on Elm Street?" Rez began nervously flicking the tip of his nose, looking away, but pulled a card from his right pocket. "If you want to know all about that stuff, then..", he handed the card to me, on the front was his phone number, and on the back was somebody else's, "..here. That number on the back is a close friend of mine named Alice. She knows all about it, but I don't think you'd want to hear it. It's just--". He stopped, shaking his head while descending into deep thought. I eyed the card until he halted his train of thought, and sighed once again, "Give me a call sometime, okay?"

"I will, thanks."

And with that, I exited the store.

During the ride home I didn't really think about what "Rez" and I were talking about. His words, and the mysterious house took a cozy seat in the back of my mind amongst fellow sublime. I did, however, noticed that nightfall was here as the moon rose over Springwood, and the town's creepiness factor took a big jump. Deserted and weather-beaten store fronts and homes were awash in the blur made by Henry's car as I approached 60 miles per hour, the time approaching 7:35. Pulling into his driveway, he busily burst from the front screen door, "I thought I told you before 7:30? Jesus Christ, I was worried sick!" "I'm really sorry. How about I just drop you off?" I was sorry. The guy had been the male personification of Mary Poppins for the most part, and I didn't want to snatch his smile. So, I did the honorable thing, and drove him to the town meeting. Unfortunately, my daughter cried her eyes out during the car ride due to the horrid musical drivel known as..Garth Brooks. Henry had asked me to go home and comfort the baby, but then Rez's words moved from the back of my mind to the forefront as I wanted to see if the town was still debating over that spooky house. After a few attempts, Henry gave in and let me sit in on the meeting. 

Numerous citizens sat inside the confines of an old cafe, gutted out due to some bad history and change of ownership. Judging from solely the emotions running in the room, I could tell this was the town's main forum and get-together. An older man, in his late 50s perhaps, stood behind a podium put at the far end of the room, he straightened his notes, and began to speak, "Citizens of Springwood, I would like to welcome you to our weekly town meeting for May 25th, 1994. The first order of business is the Krueger house." The room burst with yelling, encouragement, and profanities. The man pushed on, "our local government is against the turning of it into a tourist attraction, and hell, so should all of you. That son of a bitch, Fred Krueger, destroyed our town! Destroyed our children!" I turned to Henry, who seemed to show little emotion at any of this, a strong contrast between him and everybody else in the room. A yuppie motioned for the crowd to quiet down, but this only allowed time for him to speak, "If we get the Krueger house on 1428 Elm Street turned into an attraction, maybe this town won't be some joke. We had a strong economy before the Krueger crimes, and with the help of capitalizing on it we'll be able to give Springwood new life!" Half of the crowd agreed. The other half wanted this kid to be struck with head trauma. As the meeting pushed on, I became familiar with the name "Fred Krueger", his connection to the house, and how the town's teenage population was almost completely wiped out. 

Later, on the ride home, Henry finally let his emotions show. His face was tinged with frustration and grief, and it was apparent that he wanted to let it out but didn't. All of the ride back involved him shaking his head, pointing at the window, and quickly halting himself before saying what he wanted to. I, myself, was surprised how much this Krueger guy heavily affected the town.

When we got home, I took the baby upstairs to put her to sleep, and retraced my "to-do's" in my head. Not much was recollected, but what was remembered was a promised call to Rez. Thusly, I took off my jacket, and pulled the card with his number out. I dialed the number, prepared for a typical conversation. 2 and 3/4ths of a ring later, Kelly also known as "Rez" picked up. 

"Hello?"  
  
"Rez, it's Tina. Remember? From the pharmacy earlier?"  


"Oh. Hey, what's up?"  
  
"Not much outside of the town meeting."  
  
Rez sighed. "Is your curiosity cured?"  
  
"Not really. I don't understand how this Krueger guy could become such a controlling figure after his death, I mean--"  
  
"Small towns always have some fucked up issue they can't let go of. Unfortunately for everybody, Springwood hasn't gotten over Fred Krueger in the slightest."

"I want to go to that house."  
  
Rez burst with nervous laughter. "You're kidding, right? It's all smoke and mirrors. This town has tried to milk Krueger's rep for tourism boosts."  
  
"Maybe I should talk to Alice."  
  
"No. You've heard enough, Tina. Trust me."

In perhaps bad taste, I faked that something had came up, and that I had to go. When I hung up the phone, I immediately picked it back up to call Alice. The line was busy. "Hey, are you alright?" I jumped out my damn socks as I turned around to see Henry, holding a stack of pillows with a cup of milk on top. I smiled and replied, "Yeah. Thanks." He nodded as he backed out of my room, closing the door, but he came back in as I tried to hide the phone behind my back. "If any kid around here tells you about what you heard at the meeting, don't worry, it's all lies. Okay?" He grinned with a false sense of assurance that I immediately picked up.

"Okay." Finally inviting himself to get out, I quickly dialed Alice's number. A polite voice answered.

"Hello?"  
  
"Hi, is this Alice?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"My name is Tina. Uh, Rez suggested I get in touch with you about this Fred Krueger guy--"  
  
Alice interrupted with a tone of fear, "Freddy Krueger? My god, it's been years since I've talked about it."  
  
"I'm sorry if I'm picking old wounds."  
  
"No. No, it's no problem at all, I just didn't expect anyone outside of Springwood to care much about it."

"What were the 'Springwood Slasher crimes'? What happened?"  
  
"Well...", a reluctant sigh ensued but Alice continued, "fine, I'll tell you.."  
  
Alice told me what she knew with excruciating detail as I mentally recorded everything as much as possible. Later that night, loud, abrasive shrills of metal slicing against metal entered my ears with thunderous force as I immediately picked up a headache from the sounds. The environment around me began to violently shake as I stumbled to the ground, awakening. I instantly sat up, but the headache was still there. I placed my hands on my head, trying to take the pain as best I could, but then I felt it. Blood slowly rolled out of my right ear as I felt the liquid on my hand. I looked down in horror as I saw the blood. Earlier, I said God gave my tons of chances to get rid of my curiosity. This was one of first callings to wage war on the target of my curiosity. At that moment, I decided to drench myself in the life and crimes of Fred Krueger.

Awakening with the aid of Smashing Pumpkins' "Disarm", blaring from an annoying alarm equipped radio, my eyes snapped open with every intention of _scratching_ this intriguing _itch_. Little else to do in such a town, outside of drowning myself in the monotony that found its way into Springwood after Fred Krueger. I sat up, curiosity still buzzing, and just wanted to have a clear answer why. "God may work in mysterious ways, but hopefully these citizens won't", I thought. As quickly as I found myself once again compelled to find more, Henry stood in my doorway, gripping a breakfast tray with a welcoming grin in tow. "Good morning. I made you breakfast." I instinctively nodded at him, not really caring. Somehow, we both read through the facades in which we easily presented. I could tell he was privy of what I was doing, but the feeling was mutual. The question was: _how privy_? "I don't want to seem so strict on just the second day, Tina, but..", he slowly placed the tray on a nearby night stand, "I'm sorry to say that I can't allow you to be on the phone after 7:30." 

"Is this about what was being talked about at the town meeting?"

  
"Yes, Tina. Yes. That's something you should not, under any circumstances, look into. A lot of lives were lost, so just--", Henry caught a hold of himself mid-rant. Instead of squashing my ambitions of learning more, he fueled it. Yet, the sliver of emotion that he showed definitely hinted at a bigger picture. Shortly after, we came to an agreement on the phone deal, and set other rules in order to basically prevent me from doing much outside the house. 10:00 curfews and such. 

Ah, rules and regulations, those little slices of death, how I loathe them.


	2. Bile, Oh My

Disclaimer: New Line Cinema owns everything.

AM DEAD

Written by detox

**CHAPTER TWO - BILE, OH MY**

The following day I did some basic chores laid out for me, and to avoid sleeping, the aid of MacGuyver re-runs and Sally Jessie Raphael came into play. Taking care of the usual business of a typical day, I caught a slight case of cabin fever. Pondering life choices, the future, and that Krueger character all contributed to the building of anxiety. I slumped into the couch, sitting through the opening credits of Quantum Leap. Might as well relax, I offered.

Elm Street had forgone temporary desolation due to the law-enforced curfews. Nightly fog rolled across the seemingly calm street as the time approached eleven o' clock. A female in her late teens emerged from it, running away from a sight unseen. She quickly glanced behind her, but no one was there. The girl slammed into--a car hood, slightly bruising her midsection. Yet, she clenched her side while running down Elm Street. In her focus, a house was targeted. It was her home. Now, aiming for her doorway, she spent whatever energy she had left. Something was wrong. Elm Street as the girl knew it began to spin around her like a hellacious thrill ride. In a blur of her surroundings, the girl became dizzy, and staggered forth as the spinning came to an end.

The Messenger Of Fear stood before her.

"Welcome."

The girl immediately tried to run, yet she did not go far as Freddy sliced her ankle following with an overhead left. 

The frail body of Veronica Kimms dropped to the floor, folding unto itself like an accordion. Freddy slowly bent over to inspect it, and saw the eyes of the teen moving in fear. 

"Don't..don't!" The teen heaved between coughs of exhaustion and anxiety. "Henry!! Help me, Henry!"

Krueger breathed with a satanic frustration, "Where _ is_ our hero, Henry?"

A tear managed to accumulate in Veronica's tear ducts, yet she tried to hide her fear and sadness by closing her eyes. She tried to utter another word, "Pl-..." Krueger lunged at her face, gouging the sinning eyes of the teen until the pupils burst. Blood began to flood under both eyes, filling the sockets with the crimson red. The teen's face contorted in horror, trying to muster the breath to scream, but not being able to do so. She was crippled by her fear. The girl's mouth blew agape, screaming a silent shrill into the face of this terrifying figure. Freddy leaned in close, and repeatedly snatched the girl to her feet by the lower portion of her mouth, severely dislocating her jaw. Freddy looked the girl in what was left of her eyes, and allowed her to fall once again...folding over unto herself like an accordion. Freddy flipped her body over. He kicked her head over to the side, assuring himself of a kill.

"See you around, bitch. Oh, HENRY!!" Freddy bellowed. His maniacal laughter filled the air at the thought of some peon trying to stop him.

"I'm back."

"WHAT?!?"

"Help", I muttered, lying face-first on the ground, dirt clinging to my lips. Putting my hand on the back of my head, I tried to subdue the pain from the blow. I got to my knees to look around. A long, deserted stretch of red, dehydrated soil reached for all eternity before me. The sky was a muted brown, with only the slightest hint of sunlight peering through the thick veil cast over it. I dusted my knees off as I got up to get a better look. Grave holes and unmarked stones surrounded me. "Holy shit", I thought. I began to walk, in search of _some_ kind of help. As I endlessly walked onward, the sun had finally set, killing all illumination and visibility. I slumped to the ground, fatigued. "This isn't going anywhere", I offered, and it wasn't. The ground loosened under my weight, and I slipped into one of the graves. Shit!! I stumbled down a deep hole, descending onto a hospital bed with great force. I looked up to see the outline of the grave of which I just fell in. It loomed above me a good fifty feet away, leaving no room for escape. I was now stuck in a vast place of emptiness. A blinding light began to overtake the hole, causing me to shield my eyes. Restraints suddenly shot from the sides of the hospital bed, and strapped me down. An odd-looking doctor hunched over me, concerned look in tow.

"Amanda, you must give up this child for adoption", he stated, "we cannot have our church ruined by your disgraceful mistake and damned child." The doctor grabbed his pen and pushed it along with his clipboard into my face. "Sign here. AH!!!" Looking upward, the doctor began to yell in pain. A rumble began to vibrate the space in which I fell. It violently shook the room as the doctor continued on. Sheets of blood crashed down onto us, each sheet coming faster than the next. The doctor quickly began to mutate into numerous forms, from young teens to people I feel I recognize. As this weird metamorphosis came to end, a blonde, frail and weathered teen stood at the foot of my bed. She walked alongside my bed, and checked my forehead with her hand. She chuckled faintly, "you're still alive." 

I, puzzled, looked up at the light coming from the hole. The girl noticed this, and nodded, "I guess you could say you're in the dream world's purgatory." She continued, "there's something about you that is pulling you away from my territory and into _his_ territory. Yet, both feet aren't in yet." The girl pondered what was going on for a minute. "You do have time, if that's what you wanted to know", she said. She gave me an interrogating look, and trudged on, "I guess that _isn't_ what you wanted to know. My name is Kristen. I'm the current Dream Master, and have been since I was bartered here to save a close friend. You may even know her, since you're here." 

"Alice", I muttered.

"Yeah, Alice was the Dream Master until I agreed to take over her position to let her raise her son, Jacob. I did it, because..I'm already dead, Tina", Kristen said. 

"How do I get out of here", I asked. "For one: do not agitate Krueger, or you'll be sent into his territory. If you do that, I definitely can't help you while he infests you dreams. So, leave Freddy alone, forget about Springwood and all of that, and maybe you'll live." She paused. A drop of blood spilled onto Kristen's forehead. She stood there as if she knew this would happen, and motioned to me, "quick--run! For some reason, Freddy is aware of you being here! Run!" The drops began to accumulate on her head, turning into those familiar sheets of blood. With each sheet Kristen's body began to contort and twitch, somehow avoiding the effects of such weaponry. A final sheet smashed onto Kristen's body, sending her to the ground. I loosened the restraints on my arms and chest, and looked over the edge of the bed to get a better look at whatever was left of Kristen.

Kristen lied on the ground, covered in blood, and whispered, "I'm okay, Tina. I just need a little.."

Kristen's head snapped around--now, it was _Fred Krueger_'s! 

"pussy on a Sunday morning!!"

Freddy bore his glove and very slowly began to rise to his feet. I realized my leg restraints were still tightened, and quickly reached for them. I began to unbuckle and loosen them as Freddy slowly reached a standstill. "Did you really think I wouldn't find you", he threatened, polarizing me amidst my strap removal. 

I was paralyzed and numbed by fear and disbelief. 

His stature loomed over me with devilish intimidation and poise. A musty, dirty brown Fedora adorned his terribly burned and decayed head. Dimples were replaced by burned slabs of flesh, with only a small stream of dead tissue laced across his face, separating the burns. Freddy's eye-contorting colored sweater of green and red showed years of death, murder, and revival sown into hellish cohesion. Refined and pristine knives were screwed into a dirty work glove, with metal spirals allowing for Freddy's hand to clench into his weapon. 

He fiercely threw his glove into my face, fingers spread like the wings of death. Yet, his hand halted before me as I quickly flinched. Freddy slowly raised his glove as my head tracked it accordingly. All I could see was five razor-sharp points and the gleam of steel rise and lower. The blades looked cold from inactivity, but was enough to mire. Krueger slowly ran a blade down my face, cutting my numbed lip. 

"Shit, Krueger got her! Hurry up", Rez shouted, taking notice of blood reeling off of Tina's lip while carrying her leg-first along with another. 

My eyes widened as he lowered his head towards me. I began to tremble, and tried to put my hand to my mouth to keep my sobs silent. Yet, Freddy pulled my hand away, and profanely clicked his tongue at me. "I can't kill you.."

The stench of rotting flesh and gasoline flooded my nasal passages as Freddy opened his mouth and ran his tongue along my cheek. He then pulled away.

"..Yet. I _CAN_ show you the way.."

Krueger grunted into frustration as the hospital bed pulled from underneath me. Seemingly falling endlessly, I finally landed behind a school desk in a classroom. I looked down at my desk, where a notebook laid. A heart with "Alice + Dan" in it was sketched in a corner. Opening it up, I found--

"Hey, hey. Alice? Yoo-hoo?"

A trench-coat wearing teen with frazzled hair kept tapping me on my shoulder. I turned to him who looked a little worried at my equally worried look. Where am I? "Alice, you alright", the teen asked. "Alice? I'm not Alice..", I responded. A gentle, familiar voice called over, "Rick, leave her alone." I turned around to see Kristen sitting at a desk a row away from me. I asked, "Kristen? Am I still dreaming?" 

Kristen laughed, "Alice, you're so silly."

A little girl in a white dress stepped to Kristen, saying, "she's not Alice. He can't kill _you_, until he kills _her_."

The classroom evaporated into darkness as only a lone spotlight shone onto the little girl.

_Two police cars were parked in front of the Aerth residence. Alice sighed, knowing she had to confront not only what she had defeated, but ran away from._

"That's the only way, Tina."

_She pulled in front of 1428 Elm Street. Alice grimaced as she took a look, a lone tear running down her eye._

"No! I don't want _anybody_ to die!"

"It's too late."

_Opening her glove department, Alice pulled a .22 snub out. Jacob looked on in horror. "It's okay, honey", Alice motioned, "Mommy is going to fix some things, okay?"_

"Jesus, does it have to be this way? I'll fight Krueger if I have to!"

Krueger's voice overtook the little girl, "yes, bitch, to answer your question. Death is blooming, and I'm going to harvest!"

_The nozzle is flesh against Alice's head. Jacob tries to loosen his seat belt, and lunges for his mother. The bullet quickly eats its way through Alice's temples, killing her as she slumps over her left knee. Jacob yells, "Krueger!!"_

The spotlight shows a very _different_ shadow other than the little girl's. I ran for the little girl, but was quickly stopped as a hand grabbed my arm to stop me. I turned around..it was Alice. I yanked my arm away, I knew it wasn't Alice. I _thought_ it wasn't Alice..

Alice's eyes widened, and she yelled at me, "get out of the way!" I ducked as Krueger just barely missed with a swipe of his glove. 

"How'd you get here, Alice? You usually don't like going out on your period. How about another Midol?"

I looked back up to see _two_ identical Alices, both adorned in their "Dream Warrior" get-up. Confused, I stepped away, but I was without an exit. I was trapped in this world, and I need the _real_ Alice to help me find a way out.

The two quickly began trading blows. Alice-A threw a punch that missed and broke through the darkness, revealing a sheet of light coming from the hole. Alice-A stopped to take notice, but Alice-B quickly shoved both of them through the dark veil into a church. I safely watched from inside the darkness as the two raged on.

Alice-B tripped Alice-A up with a leg sweep followed by a stomp to the gut--wrong, Alice A grabbed the stomp attempt and threw Alice-B onto her rear end. The two hopped to their feet, and quickly exchanged right hooks, both ducked under. Alice-A hit a punch to the kidneys that staggered Alice-B. Not to let up, Alice-A went for another punch to the midsection--blocked. A kick to the shins--stepped over. A punch to the face--countered as Alice-B grabbed her fist and landed a flurry of three jabs to her face. Bruises began to appear on Alice-A, but a well-timed roundhouse kick on Alice-B's cheek coupled with the friction of boot and skin caused a laceration to appear. Alice-B stepped away to feel the blood on her face. Alice-A quickly ran for the hole, grabbing my hand in the process.

"Let's get out of here", Alice-A shouted, but her arm began to oddly stretch as we rounded the corner. "Maybe if you'd loosen your grip, I could get it hard!" The arm turned a stark green and red as fabric stretched over it. I let go and ran into the church. Alice-B brushed me aside, protecting me, as Alice-A began to walk towards us. I looked down at Alice-B's arms only to find..Freddy's finger glove! Both Alice's began to chuckle as Alice-B's grip tightened on me. Alice-A's body shifted towards Alice-B, joining them into that damned Freddy Krueger. A body, however, ran past the hole leading to the darkness. Could it be...? 

Inside the car, Jacob sat up from sobbing over his mom, but jumped completely back as her body now showed movement. Steamed still rolled off the gunshot wound as she warmly smiled at Jacob. "See, honey, I'm fixed", she proclaimed, and then grabbed Jacob by the back of his head. She said, "you need some fixin', too, boy", and with that, slammed Jacob's head hardly against the dashboard. He was completely cold-clocked.

Subdued thuds on the driver window boomed into "Alice"'s ear. It was Rez.

"Alice, where have you been? I need your help, Tina's.."

"Alice" stepped out of the car, gun discreetly placed in her purse. Rez continued, "Alice? You okay?" "Alice" smoothed back her hair slightly, allowing her wound to get some air. Rez quickly picked up on it, but before he could react..the imprint of a gun was engraved into his head. "Alice" opened a passenger door, and carried Rez over to it. Poetic justice? Yes or no, Rez was pushed into the back seat of Alice's car. "Alice" hopped into the driver's seat, and looked up at "her" reflection in the rear view mirror..

_"_My rules, kids. _MY_ rules."

My eyes snapped open, yet my focus slowly aligned to reveal Henry standing beside the sofa. He was caught off-guard by my reaction. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know I'm back from work. I got you some groceries. Oh, and an..Alice called?" I thanked him, as Alice was the person I truly had to get in touch with after that bizarre dream. What the hell did it mean? It seemed different than my average dreams. It _felt_ different than my average dreams. Thank God for being bored out of my mind, I programmed Alice's number with the help of speed dial. I quickly punched it, with rings beginning to accumulate. One ring..two rings..is she still home? Three rings...finally an answer.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Alice! Alice, I just had this terrible dream!" 

Alice's suspicion began to grow. "Did it _seem_ real?" 

"Yeah..how'd you know? This happened to you guys?"

"I guess we shouldn't keep digging into the past, but yeah. It did, but that's beside the point. What happened in your dream? Were you attacked?"

"From what you've told me, I know I saw Fred Krueger..murder a girl."

"Was it--"

"No. It wasn't me, it was another girl, but Alice, I swear it felt real."

Alice sighed, "Shit. I'll be in Springwood tomorrow, but until then try not to sleep much."

That was a no-brainer. "After a dream like that, how could I?"

An application entered his frame of vision, yet he didn't look up. It fell harmlessly into his lap as a secretary walked off, annoyed. At his right sat an awkward sophomore, who seemed uneasy while the bag of ice taped to his head started to sweat. The boy had obviously been in a fight, and was visibly shaken. It was a completely lost battle. Nerves already shot, the boy tried not to jolt too much as Krueger raised his head in the boy's direction.

"What's the matter with you?", he asked.

The boy stuttered as he tried to find truth amongst his anxiety.

"I-I-I forgot a bully's homework s-s-so I got beat up."

Fred chuckled, and leaned in closer.

"Sure you ain't have that beating coming to ya?"

He chuckled some more, but he yanked his head towards the door as Principal Aerth walked in. The Principal gave a dead-pan hello to his secretary, and began..

"I see we now employ local idiots. Not if I have anything to do with it", he gruffed. 

The Principal made a quick 180 degree turn towards the door--BAM! A school nurse bursts into the door with the injured boy's mother in tow, sending the principal to the ground. Freddy quickly kicks over a table to break his fall, for better or worse. _Highlights_ magazines and bits of cheap particle board lie underneath Principal Aerth, as Freddy finishes his application. He confidently stands, and slides it over to the secretary, taking a quick, potent glare at Principal Aerth.

"Tell your little brother I said, 'Hello', Aerth."

Shrieks, like a fire siren. No--like an ambulance warbling. Wait--it's my baby crying. 

"Hold on, Alice, I have to check something--"

I quickly tended to my daughter, who was frustrated as she came out of a formerly quiet nap. I placed the phone on top of the dresser, and rocked her into serenity. I laid her back down into the crib as the sun quietly set at 7:26 PM. I continued my conversation, "Alice, we aren't playing with fire, aren't we?" Alice intercepted, "I know Krueger's dead, but all this talk of him..". She paused then continued, "..don't worry about it. I'll be there sometime tomorrow afternoon."

With that, we ended our conversation. I placed the handset into the receiver, and walked back into the living room. I flopped onto the couch in boredom until the sounds of knocks at my front door grabbed my attention. I quickly got up, and answered the door. It was Rez, who was looking a tad uneasy about something. "Hey", I greeted. "Hey, Tina, how's it going? Uh, can I come in for a minute?" He asked. I noticed something was wrong, thus, I figured I could make worse decisions in life. I sat him down on the couch, but he preferred to stand. "Now, Tina..what exactly are you doing", he calmly asked. "What do you mean?" His posture stiffened, and continued, "I just had a nightmare last night. Sure, I always have had a nightmare here or there, but I think you know what kind of nightmare I'm talking about. So, _what_ are you _doing_, Tina? What's Alice been telling you?" "A lot. But what would that have to do with you", I honestly wondered. "Tina, Tina, don't you get it? Whatever the fuck you guys talk about or do is getting everybody spooked." 

"Wait--we're not the only ones?"

"Yeah, we're not--wait, you're having nightmares, too? Shit." Rez clinched his neck, realizing where this might head. "So, how does it feel to run from him?"

"I had one earlier, but _I_ wasn't in it. I was watching somebody else being killed by Freddy--"

Rez's eyebrows quickly rose.

"But it wasn't you. It seemed like it happened in the 60s or 70s."

Rez sat down on the couch to think over this ordeal. He turned, and said, "Alright, I got it. Luckily for you, I think Freddy isn't aware of you. YET. So, I think if you just stopped the conversations with Alice about his favorite color, his childhood, or whatever..you may have a fighting chance."

My lips squirmed, because I wasn't entirely sure.

Rez continued, "trust me, Tina. I've seen this town get wiped out. You can't kill him. My brother was a Varsity middle linebacker who could bench 320, and even _he_ couldn't get a decent lick on the guy."

Knock-knock. Light knocks on the screen door distracted me away from Rez. A teen around my age stood there, dead-pan, and looking without much purpose. Must be a paperboy. I then rose and continued for the door. The boy's eyes rolled upward, slightly above my head. A hard, swift bash to the top of my head sent me reeling into the screen door, pushing it open. The boy sidestepped me as I fumbled to the ground. 

Feeling four hands begin to drag me, I slowly blacked out.

Henry nervously waited in the Springwood Police Department's waiting room, his expression blank in thought, and sweaty palms resting on the sides of his chair. He wondered if he had done the right thing by turning Tina in. Maybe. Maybe not. Knocking her unconscious with the side of a wine bottle may have been a _little_ overzealous. Henry sighed as he was becoming restless in his frayed state, and just wanted this over with. Faintly, he heard his name through the police chief's door. Looking up, he could see a silhouette of the chief coming to, and opening, the door. Doorknob in hand, he nodded for Henry to come in.

"Henry, I'm glad you did what was needed of you. I knew taking in strays was a bad idea, because you know how these fuckin' kids are. Any little crime left unsolved or in cold case or infamy, and they want to know every goddamn thing about it. Springwood can absolutely not afford another Krueger massacre, and you know it."

Henry nodded, but was legitimately concerned about Tina, "where did you take her?" The chief turned in his chair, reluctant to tell him, but figured it wouldn't do too much harm to tell him. The chief returned his chair back to the previous angle, and swiped his nose. Maybe it would do him some harm. "Listen, Henry", the chief offered, "I've got a reported Alice Johnson sighting , a kid missing, and an already rattled town up in arms over this kid you took in who is trying to start Freddy right on up again. ON YOUR BLOCK."

If he couldn't get straight answers, then help would be an excellent alternative, "Chief, what can I do? I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place."

The police chief sighed, and flipped along his rolodex, halting in the "G" section. He pulled out a card, and leaned over to hand it to Henry. Henry flipped it over, inspecting it.

"Neil Gordon. Used to be a doctor at one of the shrink bins, but I think he can help you. I know where you're getting at, and he'll help you with that. He's up in Kokosing, by the river. Now, you can get yourself some rest or maybe a coffee, but whatever you do..get the hell out of my office."

Henry put the card in his pocket, and acknowledged the police chief with a goodbye nod. Kokosing was now he's destination, but he wondered about this Gordon character. Was this the same Dr. Neil Gordon who had a hand in the "suicides"? 

Two and a half hour's worth of Ohio passed under Henry's tires as the Kokosing River area began to get closer and closer. Henry first passed the tourist portion of the town, littered with trails and parks. Moving further, he came upon the desolate edge of town. Houses skipped rhythms, and were few and far between. The pine trees began to up in numbers as Henry pushed further into deep forest.

To be continued...?


End file.
